Find Cheap Gas Around You with Gas Buddy

There are literally hundreds of thousands of websites on the Internet, as well as tens of thousands of software applications that you could install on your cellphone. The problem with so much information is knowing which one’s are the most useful and can help you in your daily life. Aside from basic practical apps like Google Maps, Find My Phone, and others, there are numerous useful applications and websites to choose from. From those that help you track your diet, like MyFitnessPal, to relatively useless one’s like addictive video games that waste your time. The challenge of finding a great tool for daily use is a hard one because there’s literally just too much selection, and not enough time to browse or even try all of them.

So, this is the first in a series of blog posts that highlight the most useful and top picks for free applications and websites that you can use on a daily basis to optimize and biohack your life, thereby saving time, money, living longer, and ultimately radiate limitless energy, focus, health and flow in everything you do.

The first one that I’ve chosen is a very simple one. It’s both an online website, as well as a downloadable application for your cellphone. It is designed for all cellphone types, and therefore is cross-platform whilst being very user friendly.

Photo Credit: GasBuddy

The website and application is called GAS BUDDY. The website is here: http://www.gasbuddy.com

The basic premise and functionality of this unique resource is that it displays gas prices within North America, sortable by price, distance, and even displaying them graphically on an interactive map. Additional features include narrowing the list down based on the type (eg. regular, midgrade, premium, diesel). The map even links gas station addresses directly to Google Maps, making simply touch the screen and plot a trip to the closest and cheapest gas station. I find the map feature particularly useful in finding local gas stations along my commute to/from shopping or other errands that offer me the best prices without going too far out of my way.

The app not only saves me time, but with differences of 5-15 cents between stations, you can save yourself $5-$10 on a full tank of gas (or roughly $80-$165/year assuming a price of $1.25/liter and mileage of 10,000 km/year with a 50 litre gas tank). It’s also a way to figure out when prices drop, as I’ve noticed that often that you can find cheaper gasoline typically prices between Monday and Tuesday, and then Thursday and Friday prices are more likely to rise.

The website provides even more tools, such as a “Gas Price Heat Map” showing how gas prices compare across the country, a “Trip Cost Calculator” to help you figure out how much a trip will cost you in gas, both US and Canadian average gas prices, and finally “Gas Price Charts” showing historical graphs of gas prices in your city.

The cellphone application is extremely useful, especially while your out and about and suddenly realize you need to gas up. Within a few clicks you have instant access to the cheapest prices as well as an interactive map of where the gas stations are.

Many apps try to rely on community based updates, but fail. GasBuddy is different in that it actually does have a sufficient following to make it work as a price index for current gas prices in your area.

If you create a profile with GasBuddy you can even update gas prices for points that you can use to enter daily draws for $100. You can also enroll in “Challenges” to earn points, and there are new challenges every day as well as a weekly challenge. You can also compete against other users by reporting good prices and helping others save money on gas. I often would find myself updating the prices while standing at the pump, simply to gain a few hundred points towards entering the $100 draw for the day.

I can’t think of a more useful tool that drivers could use to help find the cheapest and best prices for gas. It’s rated 4.5 stars out of 5 on iTunes, and I personally give it a 5 out of 5 for functionality, ease of install and use, lack of any software glitches or issues, savings in gas and time, and sufficient monetary incentives and prizes to help keep the data current and relevant to end users.